Adjustable clamp truck



March 7, 1950 H. L. SMITH ADJUSTABLE CLAMP .TRUCK 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed001;. l, 1947 March 7, l950 H. L. SMITH ADJUSTABLE CLAMP TRUCK 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. l, 1947 INVNTOR.

' A fr0/@N5 Y Patented Mar. 7, 1950 ADJUSTABLE CLAMP TRUCK Henry .LSmith,"learwater,: Fla., assigner to Food Machinery and ChemicalCorporatioma corporation of Delaware Application October 1,1947,'1Serial No. 777,314

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-655) This invention relates to the 1 art of .clamptrucks and particularly to such trucks which are adjustable to loadsvarying in width.

It is .an object of Vthis linvention to provide .a novelv adjustableclamp truck, having an overriding toggle locking the truck. in clampingposition, with a novel means for adjusting the truck 'to handling boxesvarying in length so thatrwhen thus locked it will t a boX of aparticular length ing outwardly from them'embers mand having guidelugsI1 thereon.

. Thefmembers I3, I., I5 and I8 are recessed rinto .the ,front faces ofvthe side members I2l and are held in placebo/.metal straps i8 whicharebolted to the front :faces of 'the 4side members.

.Bearing plates (I9 are also recessed into Athe lower ends of the sidemembers TIZandsecured :thereto by 'the same bolts whichattach the strapsin accordance with the adjustment of the truck. 10 .'18, tothesemembers.

Another objectof the invention is to p-rovide :Provided on the membersI2 are blocksr 25 in a toggle locking clamp truck with a mechanismlWhichfis Xed a shaft 23, carriage Wheels 2I1befor adjusting the spacebetween the jaws, when `ing cmounted on this shaft -just inside thethese are in clamping relation, which is relatively blocks' 25. simpleto operate and which is universal in the l5 Shaft .25 also carries apedal bracket-,23 on degree of adjustment, that is: which can besetwhich ispivotally mounted a clamping'pedal 29. anywhere between themaximum and minimum .'-Provided onthe crossemembers I3 and I4 are limitsof the adjustment. bearings 35. and `Idliriwl'iioh is journalled'a'shaftThe manner of accomplishing Athe foregoing 31 having a smooth portion 38and a threaded objects as well as further objects and advantages.portion 39. Collars All prevent vertical shifting will be made manifestin the iollowing'descripof .the shaltl'gin the bearings and36. VAThe.tion taken in connection with the accompanying shaft'3'l ,is adaptedtobe rotated by a handle 4l ydrawings in which: mounted on its upperend.

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred Laterally shiftablethrough the openings embodiment of the hand truck of this invenformedbetweenthe members `I5 and I6. bearing tion with the truck adjusted fora minimum "plates I9, and straps I8, are box clamping jaws separationvof the jaws and showing the latter'in 42, these having arms 43 bentforwardly thereclamping position. from, with boxvgrippingteeth 44extending. in-

.Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of Fig. 1. lwardly, froml outerloweriedges of these s arms.

Fig. 3 .isan enlarged vertical sectional view 3o These jaws 42 .lie,ushvwith the, cross-members taken on the line 3 3 of' Fig. 1 andillustrating I5 and 16. the adjusting screw and guide shaft of theclamp- Disposed parallel zwith the shaft 3l, and 1. on ing mechanism.foppositesidesthereof, are pairs ofguide bars -45 Fig. 4 is afragmentary front elevational View :which arezsecured to the frontand-rear faces similar to the lowerportion of Fig. 1 and show- 35 of thecross'members Id and I5 so'thatthe bars ing the same adjustment of vthetruck with the of eachpairareparallel. clamping mechanismactuated toextend. the jaws PiVOIed al1-.their .IOWGI eHdS'OIl the ljws 42..:arepreliminary to a clamping operation. .levers 46each. of fthesecomprising a bar-Which Fig. 5 is a view similar tothelower portion of:lies flushl against thepcross-member rI5 vand one Fig. 1 with themechanism adjusted to the maxi- 40 Vof the-.jaws 42. mum spacing of thejaws in clamping position. Slideable on the, smooth shaft portion g 33gis Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the .a slideblock 5I)while the threaded'portion'fSBzis jaws expanded in readiness to receivea load be- Screwed :into a. screw block 5I. The block. lillrhas tweenthe jaws. verticalkerfsiin which iare pivoted links; Ithe Fig. 7 is anenlarged horizontal cross-sectional 45 outer ends'o'f which `arepivotally connected 4to View taken on'the line I-I of Fig. 5. the upperlends offthe levers 46. The blocklhas Fig. 8 isa similar-view taken onthe line 8-18 vertical kerfs in which are pivoted linksipthe of Fig. 5.outer ends of which are pivoted at fulcrumipoints Referring speCiCallyto the drawings, the l5t to the levers lI-E. The slide block 5l) has ajaw clamp truck It, shown therein as embodying the A50 `opening'peclalE0 which is connected by alink` 6I invention, includes a carriage frameIl having to the upper end of the Clamping pedal 2g handle side membersl2 which are rigidly connected and held in spaced relation by an upperOperation cross-member I3, a middle cross-member I4 and In Fig. 1, theslide block 50 is in its uppermost lower cross-members I5 and I6, thelatter extend- 55 position to which it was elevated by the operafordepressing the foot pedal 29. This separates the upper ends of thelevers 46 and shifts the jaws 42 inwardly into their innermost boxclamping position.

The block 5l4 is adjusted as shown in Fig. 1 when it is desired tohandle a stack of boxes, the length of which equal the distance hereshown between the inner faces of the arms 43 of the jaws 42.` No boxesare shown in Fig. 1 as they would hide the mechanism. If the truck Iwere so adjusted and then operated on such a stack, the teeth 44 wouldbe driven along the top surface of the floor beneath the ends of thelowermost box of the stack. The operator would then continue to presshis foot on the pedal 29, while pulling backward vigorously on the upperends of the handle members I2 so as to lift the stack and balance thison the wheels 2l while trucking it to a desired destination.

The stack is set down by reversing the steps of the process by which itwas picked up. The operator then tromps on the pedal B which depressesthe slide block and swings the upper ends of the levers 46 inwardly intothe position in which these are shown in Fig. 4.

This expands the jaws 42, releasing the stack and permitting the truckto be withdrawn from about the stack.

When the jaws have been shifted inwardly (as shown in Fig. to grip andsupport a stack of boxes so that this may be carried from place to placeon the truck l0, it is to be noted that the slide block 50 has beenlifted so as to overthrow the toggle (comprised by the links 53) pastthe line connecting the pivots at which these links are joined to theupper ends of the levers 56. This prevents accidental expansion of thejaws 42 while a load is being carried on the truck i0.

The adjustment of the truck I0 for handling boxes of any particularlength, between the minimum and maximum lengths indicated in Figs. l and5, is accomplished by rotating the shaft 31 by the handle 4l. The actionof the threads on the threaded portion 39 of the shaft 31 moves theblock 50 up or down which varies the spacing between the fulcrum points56 of the levers 46. As this distance increases the distance between thejaw arms 43 increases both for their expanded and clamping positions.

A particular advantage of the truck I0 is that merely by rotation of thehandle 4l, the truck may be adjusted to fit any particular length of boxin between the maximum and the minimum sizes the truck is adapted forhandling.

It is also helpful that this adjustment may be made while the truck isresting close to a stack just before the operator undertakes to pick thestack up with the truck. As he rotates the handle 4| he may lookdownwardly at the stack and compare its width with the space between thearms 43 while the pedal 29 is depressed. When this spacing of the arms43 is exactly equal to the length of the boxes of the stack, theoperator then merely depresses the pedal 60 and proceeds to pick up thestack in the manner above described.

I claim:

1. In a clamp truck the combination of: a wheeled carriage frame; a pairof box clamping jaws mounted on said frame for movement inwardly fromexpanded position to clamping position and return; a pair of uprightlevers the lower ends 0f which connect with said jaws; a vertical shaftlying substantially in the plane of said levers and between these; meansfor rotatably mounting said shaft on said frame; threads on a portion ofsaid shaft, said shaft also having a smooth portion; a slide blockslideable on said smooth portion of said shaft; links pivotallyconnected to said slide block and to upper ends of said levers; a screwblock into which the threads of said shaft are screwed; links pivotallyconnecting at their inner ends with said screw block at their outer endswith said levers at fulcrum points on the latter; means for shiftingsaid slide block on said shaft to rock said levers about said fulcrumpoints to expand or retract said jaws on said truck; and means to rotatesaid shaft to alter the spacing of said fulcrum points.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which vertical guide bars are providedin pairs for guiding said links and blocks in their various movements.

3. A combination as in claim 2 in which said slide block and screw blockhave kerfs into which said links extend and in which said links arepivoted to said blocks; said pairs of guide bars being spaced apartsubstantially the width of said slide blocks, the bars in each pairbeing spaced substantially the thickness of said links.

4. In a clamp truck the combination of z a frame comprising a pair ofhandle side members; a pair of wheels rotatably journalled on said sidemembers; at least three cross-members rigidly uniting said frame sidemembers; a pair of box clamping jaws slideably mounted on the lower ofsaid cross-members; bearing means provided on two of said cross-members;a shaft journalled in said bearing means, said shaft having a threadedportion and a smooth portion; a screw block into which said threadedportion screws; a slide block slideably receiving said smooth portion ofsaid shaft; two levers, the lower ends of which are pivotally connectedrespectively to said jaws; links connecting said screw block to saidlevers at fulcrum points thereon; links connecting said slide block toother points on said levers; means for vertically moving said slideblock on said shaft to shift said jaws inwardly and outwardly betweenexpanded and box clamping positions; guides for guiding said clampingjaws along rectilinear paths; and means for rotating said shaft to movesaid screw block to various adjusted positions on the shaft to alter thedistance said fulcrum points are separated.

HENRY L. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2 024,267 Bartlett Dec. 17, 19352,109,305 Stine Feb. 22, 1938 2,316,614 Pierce Apr. 13, 1943 2-,328 224Moorehead Aug. 31, 1943 2,367,752 Broome Jan. 23, 1945

